Asher Roth, the latest white wonderkind in the rap world, dealt with some controversy a month ago that we neglected to comment on. In short, he tweeted that he was hanging with some "nappy headed hoes" while at one of his college shows. He supposedly thought people would know he was referencing and making fun of the Imus debacle. A lot of people weren't so convinced and called him out. He publicly apologized, saying, in part, "The twitter situation was an immature attempt to poke fun at an infamously moronic joke. In doing so, I unconsciously stooped to the level of its originator, making it just as bad, if not worse. Pathetic. Lesson learned."
Leave it to J. Smooth to not only comment on the whole thing, but bring the "lesson learned" from 101 to Advanced Thesis Seminar type shit.
I can think of so many important parallels to experiences I've had with friends who thought we were close enough that they could be sexist in a funny-sort-of-way and get away with it, because of course I understood they didn't mean it because I knew them well enough to know that they weren't actually sexist.
And on that note, kinda wish J. Smooth had also explored the "Gender Crossroads." Maybe next time?
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I friggin love this guy. Jay Smooth will always have my
I think I remember seeing this guy's videos featured on Feministing. Can you please provide a transcript? Thanks in advance.
Here's a transcript:
Okay, Asher Roth. Approximately four hundred eighty eleven people have asked me to comment on Asher Roth. A couple of weeks ago Asher was performing at Rutgers and he tweeted a twitter twizzle about chilling with “nappy headed hoes”. And that was messed up, he shouldn’t have done that. Do I think it was worthy of starting a protest movement? No. Do I think that he is a racist? Probably not. But that’s not the point. You may well be the most black-people-loving-ist dude on campus whose only intention was to make fun of Don Imus, but that thing you said was still clumsy and hurtful to people. And even if he did do the right thing by apologizing right away (and then deleting the apology and then re-apologizing), at the end of the day he still screwed up. And even though I don’t think it wasn’t a big deal screw up, I do think it was an interesting screw up because it illustrates where a lot of us are at right now with race in America.
We are in a new place right now. We’re not in the Promised Land but we are a few steps farther down that road than we’ve ever been before. And as we make progress we get more comfortable, and as we get more comfortable some of us get a little extra comfortable. We start acting as though coming closer together means not having to care how our words affect each other. We start assuming we can make any kind of joke or use any kind of epithet without a second thought because now that we’ve made all this progress, everyone’s always going to know that we don’t mean it like that. Right?
Nooooo. That is not how this thing is going to work. That’s not how any relationship works. When people come closer together, the boundaries change, but you never stop having any boundaries, in any healthy relationship. And the whole process of getting closer is based on becoming more aware of those constantly evolving boundaries and better at respecting them. That’s how people get to trust each other and be friends. In any healthy relationship, the closer you get, the more you care about how you affect each other. That’s like a basic rule of life. It’s not rocket science. And yet somehow, in our racial interactions, we tend to forget that and start thinking that coming closer together means we can care less about how we affect each other.
And some of us start getting mad about it, like “Oh god, respecting each other’s humanity is such a pain in the ass. Do really we have to do this forever? Can’t you all just lighten up so I don’t have to respect you anymore? Isn’t the whole point of coming together as one that I don’t have to care what you think?” And then some of us go all the way crazy and start doing this hipster-ironic-Vice-magazine thing of deliberately acting racist as a way to show that we’re not racist because we think we need to prove to everyone that being past racism means being freed from the unfair burden of ever having to care how we affect each other. Did I mention this means you’re crazy?
We don’t want to go down that road. And I’m not saying I think Asher Roth is anywhere near that far down the road. Because he’s not. Asher is just a young dude who’s still learning what it means to be a public figure whose voice now reaches millions of strangers which means you can’t assume everyone knows you don’t mean it like that. And he’s still learning what it means to be a white artist in a historically black art form. And learning how to dig into all his unexamined assumptions about race and his sense of entitlement about, say, making black jokes or chastising black people about not helping Africa enough (which is a whole other can of worms I’ll get into another time). But basically what I’m saying is, Asher Roth is just in the same a place that a lot of us are at right now. Because now that we all, through the internet, have a public voice that potentially reaches millions of strangers and we’re all figuring out what it means to be a little bit closer in this post-hip hop, post-Obama era, we’re all basically at a crossroads now, where we can choose between one path that starts with a commitment to caring more as we get closer and another path that starts with feeling entitled to care less. So I’m hoping that Asher Roth and all the rest of us are going to take a minute to think and choose not to go down the path that leads to being one of those annoying-ass, too-cool-to-be-human. Vice Magazine-y kind of people.
Here's a transcript:
Okay, Asher Roth. Approximately four hundred eighty eleven people have asked me to comment on Asher Roth. A couple of weeks ago Asher was performing at Rutgers and he tweeted a twitter twizzle about chilling with “nappy headed hoes”. And that was messed up, he shouldn’t have done that. Do I think it was worthy of starting a protest movement? No. Do I think that he is a racist? Probably not. But that’s not the point. You may well be the most black-people-loving-ist dude on campus whose only intention was to make fun of Don Imus, but that thing you said was still clumsy and hurtful to people. And even if he did do the right thing by apologizing right away (and then deleting the apology and then re-apologizing), at the end of the day he still screwed up. And even though I don’t think it wasn’t a big deal screw up, I do think it was an interesting screw up because it illustrates where a lot of us are at right now with race in America.
We are in a new place right now. We’re not in the Promised Land but we are a few steps farther down that road than we’ve ever been before. And as we make progress we get more comfortable, and as we get more comfortable some of us get a little extra comfortable. We start acting as though coming closer together means not having to care how our words affect each other. We start assuming we can make any kind of joke or use any kind of epithet without a second thought because now that we’ve made all this progress, everyone’s always going to know that we don’t mean it like that. Right?
Nooooo. That is not how this thing is going to work. That’s not how any relationship works. When people come closer together, the boundaries change, but you never stop having any boundaries, in any healthy relationship. And the whole process of getting closer is based on becoming more aware of those constantly evolving boundaries and better at respecting them. That’s how people get to trust each other and be friends. In any healthy relationship, the closer you get, the more you care about how you affect each other. That’s like a basic rule of life. It’s not rocket science. And yet somehow, in our racial interactions, we tend to forget that and start thinking that coming closer together means we can care less about how we affect each other.
And some of us start getting mad about it, like “Oh god, respecting each other’s humanity is such a pain in the ass. Do really we have to do this forever? Can’t you all just lighten up so I don’t have to respect you anymore? Isn’t the whole point of coming together as one that I don’t have to care what you think?” And then some of us go all the way crazy and start doing this hipster-ironic-Vice-magazine thing of deliberately acting racist as a way to show that we’re not racist because we think we need to prove to everyone that being past racism means being freed from the unfair burden of ever having to care how we affect each other. Did I mention this means you’re crazy?
We don’t want to go down that road. And I’m not saying I think Asher Roth is anywhere near that far down the road. Because he’s not. Asher is just a young dude who’s still learning what it means to be a public figure whose voice now reaches millions of strangers which means you can’t assume everyone knows you don’t mean it like that. And he’s still learning what it means to be a white artist in a historically black art form. And learning how to dig into all his unexamined assumptions about race and his sense of entitlement about, say, making black jokes or chastising black people about not helping Africa enough (which is a whole other can of worms I’ll get into another time). But basically what I’m saying is, Asher Roth is just in the same a place that a lot of us are at right now. Because now that we all, through the internet, have a public voice that potentially reaches millions of strangers and we’re all figuring out what it means to be a little bit closer in this post-hip hop, post-Obama era, we’re all basically at a crossroads now, where we can choose between one path that starts with a commitment to caring more as we get closer and another path that starts with feeling entitled to care less. So I’m hoping that Asher Roth and all the rest of us are going to take a minute to think and choose not to go down the path that leads to being one of those annoying-ass, too-cool-to-be-human. Vice Magazine-y kind of people.
Of course...I *would* accidentally double-post the world's longest comment....;)
Thanks ABurk.
I love what J. Smooth had to say about this sordid 'affair'. And... I love even more how this fits into the world of gender politics and LGBT politics. Example... every time I hear hipster-queer peeps talking about "tranny-this-tranny-that" and I point out to them, "actually, as a transwoman, I really resent that term which has been/IS STILL USED to oppress us and take away our womenhood, the inevitable response is, that's your problem you're not evolved enough to accept it. The fact I wish to be referred to as a woman or, at the very least, a transwoman is considered to be not hip enough and totally lacking the outre/queer proud/irony which "tranny" is supposed to possess. Then I'm informed "I have a transman friend who calls himself a tranny!" And I reply... well, transmen aren't in fact the targets of that term, it doesn't even really apply to them nor oppress them. And then I get attitude, as in, if one is in the community of queer people, you GET to use tranny and if a tranny doesn't like that, then 'eff them and their lack of a sense of humor and over-sensitivity with language and this is a sign of how reactionary they are. Yup, J. Smooth hit the nail on the head... one's sense of irony/hipness/personal 'outreness' does NOT entitle you to disrespect others and decide that they should or shouldn't be offended by. Wise words, Smooth!
Just curious, as a cisgendered person... how does the word "tranny" refer to transwomen specifically? I always thought the word is a put down towards the whole trans community as well as all trans individuals? Educate me, please.
It seems to me that usually the term is used pejoratively to describe a woman that looks masculine; therefore the intent of the "joke" is that she actually "is a man."
@mandoir:
I disagree with your description of how the word is used. I've been around the LGBT community for decades and never heard butches called "tranny". (if you know of instances of that, I'd be interested to hear about them). I've read literature about 'male impersonators' from the 30s and 40s-on, and never heard the term tranny applied to them. It's specifically been applied toward male-bodied people who are perceived as presenting as women.
Gina,
I understand what you're saying about what a "tranny" actually is - as you said, someone who appears to be male presenting as a woman.
I should have specified that my loose definition refers to a sub-slang (if you will) usage in which it is most certainly applied to a cisgender woman who happens to have "masculine" features, in order to insult her. As in, "She looks like a tranny," which would be taken to mean "I know she's a girl, but she looks like a man pretending to be a girl."
I hear it used in such a way fairly frequently, even at times directed toward myself :]
... I'm not sure that I'm alone in hearing the slur used as such.
Oh, and as an additional clarification, no, I never hear it directed at butch women. It's just a crass and offensive comment about the woman's attractiveness, in my experience.
@mandoir:
No, you're not alone hearing it used that way. Calling a ciswoman a 'tranny' is a way of:
1) Trying to enforce gender-normativity;
2) The biggest insult someone supposedly can lay on a ciswoman (as in... there's nothing uglier/more phony than a tranny);
3) A way of stripping someone of their womanhood by basically labeling them as a man. Kind of like tarring and feathering a person being lynched in the town square. Much as I detest Ann Coulter, the Internet campaign labeling her as a tranny was truly offensive, both for her, women in general and transwomen.
I'm still undecided who's insulted more by its use in that way... the ciswoman or transwoman. It's painful to hear women demeaned by that term and (for me) even more painful to hear women deny it ("no, she's a real woman, she's beautiful, not a tranny!") But I don't hear it hurled at masculine women, rather at women who exhibit the outward trappings of overtly feminine expression.
All of this is said better than I was able to. :) You're exactly correct.
@StephenA:
The word tranny originally meant "transvestite" applied to both crossdressers, female impersonators and drag queens. (this is way before 'transgender' even existed as a term). Sometime around the late 80s, it started to be applied to transsexuals as well. However, as a term, it was always used for MTF people. As someone who's interested in this history and the evolution of the trans community, I've never seen the term applied to FTMs in old literature, diatribes about trans people or even in the cases of comparatively rare violence against FTMs. Until the queer movement started using it around 10 years ago, it wasn't a term trans-masculine spectrum people really used at all. It's now most commonly used in the trans community either by queer-identified transpeople (most often FTM) and most often as a descriptor of MTF sexworkers (alongside other derogatory terms... 'shemale' or 'chix with dicks'). Baring Buck Angel, I don't know of many FTMs in the sexworker community. While it is sometimes used 'affectionately' or humorously among transwomen, my point is that doesn't give any cis-person (even LGB-identified ones) license to call a transwoman a tranny, no matter what pretensions of hipness that cisperson has towards the trans community. Totally the point J. Smooth was making about Asher Roth. He thought he was being cool... he ended up sounding like an ignorant, appropriative ass.
Thanks for the knowledge. Appreciate it.
I want to marry J. Smooth. I know I say this every time you post one of his videos.
"some of us go all the way crazy and start doing this hipster ironic Vice magazine thing of deliberately acting racist as a way to show that we're not racist...because we think we need to prove to everyone that being past racism means being from the unfair burden of ever having to care how we affect each other, did I mention this means YOU'RE CRAZY?"
YES, YES, YES. I wish more people called out ironic hipster racism.
I am so sick of hipsters and their irony.
You might like diehipster.com, which, in addition to being funny, does a good job of deconstructing the clash of socioeconomic classes and races that occur when hipfolk move into 'up-and-coming' neighborhoods.
And then there's Look At This Fucking Hipster, which just makes fun of their fashion (non)sense and makes me pee myself laughing.
http://www.latfh.com/
Thanks for posting Courtney, I just wish you'd let this be about what is needed to be about without making it about your oppression as a white woman. It's a little like when J Smooth says "Isn’t the whole point of coming together as one that I don’t have to care what you think?” So we come together on feministing to talk about your oppression - and postings are only complete if they focus and encapsulate your experiences? Problem!
Agreed. This happens way, way too often here.
Oh I see what you mean now, point taken.
I wasn't referring to my own oppression. I was referring to the fact that the use of "hoes" (and the whole Imus debacle) is a definitely gendered issue and one I wish J. had addressed.
The other day I posted a list of hot people.
I think Jay Smooth should definitely have been on there, and NOT just because of his appearance. If he was dumb, he'd definitely do nothing for me.
Bravo!
I love the "relationships" parallel. Boundaries, boundaries, boundaries.
Also, twitter/facebook/yourface and celebrity participation puts a whole new spin on the state of being a public figure.
Great video. My only quibble is the throwaway "post-hip hop" line, but it's not really relevant to his argument. I'm sick of ironic hipsters in ever sense, in the same way I have no patience for most other irony movements. If the goal is actually a well though out strategy to criticize something or make a point stylistically irony can be a great tool, but I feel like it's just a tool nowadays to be a callous jerk who does whatever the heck he or she wants to do.
I'd be interested in seeing something about irony and its connection with entitlement. I have a feeling there are some roots there just waiting to be unearthed.
I like what you wrote Daven. Not to sound anti-academic, but I do feel some college classes which focus almost exclusively on 'deconstruction' of anything and everything have the effect of making said person believe they are "post" the society in which they're living. Sorry... doesn't work that way. Just because one has deconstructed racism, sexism or homo/transphobia doesn't mean one is "post" jack.
Just be clear, when I said "a post Hip-Hop & post-Obama world" I didn't mean "post" in that sense, that we've left them behind or they're not relevant to the present..
I just meant a world where their presence and impact has shifted things and continues to, as opposed to a world where they didn't exist yet.. def. wasn't saying that their presence & impact is something we've "moved past" or rendered obsolete.
Probably should've phrased it differently.. I didn't go to college so I forget the word "post" has so much baggage. :)
Much thanks for all the feedback and especially the transcript!
Sure thing, that makes complete sense. My problem is that when I hear "post hip hop" it's usually coming out of the mouths of people who say it like they would say "post lima beans". The people I hear jumping on the "post hip hop" or "hip hop is dead" memes are people who were never happy that hip hop was alive in the first place.
Probably more a byproduct of where I go to school versus where I grew up more than anything else.
And I agree, gina, about the whole "deconstruction" phenomenon. People seem to get off on understanding something on an academic level and writing that off as "pure" understanding, or all that is necessary in that regard. It's a humility issue that I think a large portion of the academic community has yet to deal with, and the lack of humility gets passed on to a lot of students, especially entitled ones.
It comes down to tempering knowledge with wisdom, and wisdom can only come through openness to the experiences and knowledge of as many people as one can be open to. This isn't a problem for any "side", either. It's universal. My issue is that universities are pretty keen to spread knowledge, but not so much wisdom, and we end up with ironic "post x,y,z" folks who have simply added onto their entitlement issues.
Love Jay Smooth's videos. Check out his take on the "no homo" phrase.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJnlPP7jm5s&feature=PlayList&p=F15118DC8702A0DC&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=46